FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to containers for use in the transport of goods. There is today widespread use of large containers into which a plurality of individual articles to be transported are loaded, for example, at the factory. The loaded containers are then transported, for example, on specially adapted road or rail vehicles to a dockside and are then lifted on board a ship adapted to receive such containers. After arrival of the ship at the port of destination, the containers are lifted off and transported to their intended recipient by road or rail transport.
Such containers are generally of box shape and about 6 meters (20 feet) long.times.2.4 meter (8 feet) high.times.2.4 meter (8 feet) wide although other dimensions (particularly length, which is typically between 3.0 and 12.2 meters (10 and 40 feet) and height may be utilised.
It is frequently found in international trade that containers are carried full to a port of destination but empty from that port. For example, containers are used to transport manufactured goods from Europe to Middle Eastern countries from where manufactured goods are not exported on the same scale. Thus there is a significant extent of "dead heading" of containers from such a port of destination to another port where the containers can be refilled; this is uneconomic.